Scam using instagram contact

[Alexandra454]

Hello,

I am a host in Rio de Janeiro and recently received a request from someone 'who has a lot of clients' and was interested in my apartment'. He asked me to contact him via his Instagram account. Of course I reported the person and posted a warning in a Brazilian group for hosts. It turned out that dozens of people had received the same, identical request for properties all over Brazil. So this was obviously not just a guest trying to save money by negotiating outside of Airbnb. This looks like a much more elaborate scam. Does anyone know what's behind this?

Thanks!

[Helen427]

Not been cheeky, but at a guess, those behind it will know who is behind and involved in it @Alexandra454  😉

Those scammers always get caught up with at some stage so keep reporting them.

There's a number of other ones that have also taken place using What's App etc that you can read about here in the CC.

One has to question if sometimes it's an inside job at a Tech centre along the way.